Israel has no heart (pun was intended) when deporting one of the few practicing heart surgeons in the occupied West Bank. What possible reason could there be to deport a heart surgeon?

One of the few open-heart surgeons based in the occupied West Bank said on Saturday he had been detained at Israelâ€™s airport and faced possible deportation.

After being detained for more than a day at Israelâ€™s Ben Gurion Airport, Israel granted Dirgham Abu Ramadan, a German cardiologist of Palestinian origin, a one-week extension on his tourist visa and allowed him to enter the country.

â€œThey told me I was allowed in for seven days during which I would either get a work permit or I leave the country,â€ Abu Ramadan told Reuters.

Abu Ramadan has performed surgeries at hospitals across the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip for years. He said he has 270 surgeries scheduled in the coming months.

Mazen al-Shawa, general manager of the al-Mezan Hospital in the West Bank city of Hebron, said Abu Ramadan was scheduled to perform eight procedures on Saturday alone. â€œThis is a very grave issue. Heâ€™s the only professional surgeon in the West Bank,â€ al-Shawa said.

Some Palestinians can receive treatment at Israeli hospitals but it is difficult to get permits and many cases have been refused.